The Seleni Institute Launches Teen Initiative

SITI will extend reproductive and maternal mental health services to teenage girls

Today we announced the launch of the Seleni Institute Teen Initiative (SITI), which will extend reproductive and maternal mental health services to pregnant and postpartum teenage girls.

“We are committed to promoting the success of pregnant teens and teen mothers' in adulthood through evidence-based mental health care,” said Nitzia Logothetis, founder and executive chairwoman of the Seleni Institute. “These young women deserve the same support and opportunities for success as any mother, and we’re honored to be able to provide this critical care as they make the transition to parenthood.”

Over 200,000 babies are born to teenage girls in the United States each year. And compared with their peers who delay childbearing, teen girls who have babies are:

• Less likely to finish high school;

• More likely to rely on public assistance;

• More likely to be poor as adults; and

• More likely to have children who have poorer educational, behavioral, and health outcomes over the course of their lives than do kids born to older parents.

Beginning in May 2015, SITI will provide both direct support to teenage girls via individual psychotherapy, group support, and general information on the psychological effects of pregnancy and new motherhood, as well as professional training on reproductive mental health for clinicians working with a pregnant adolescent population.

To learn more about the Seleni Institute Teen Initiative, please visit seleni.org/siti or call (212) 939-7200.